Alumni Success Stories Explore how our alumni propel their Rowan University education into lasting success, as highlighted through our alumni success series. From Rowan University student to lifelong member of the Rowan University Alumni Association, Rowan Profs thrive at every stage of their journey. Go Profs!
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Higher Education Master’s Program Sounds Like Sweet Success For Rowan Music Alum Ben W
Future college students will be fortunate to have Ben W as their academic advisor.
The Gloucester County native and aspiring academic counselor, who will complete his master’s degree in the College of Education’s Higher Education track this spring, didn’t initially set his sights on the program until his own interaction with an advisor.
“He’s been nothing but a huge help during the undergraduate process,” Ben says. “I want to give back because of my experiences in the undergraduate setting.”
Ben graduated magna cum laude from Rowan’s highly competitive Music program after what he revealed was a difficult transition to college life as a student with disabilities. He’s now empowered to “inspire students with disabilities to stay in college, so they can break obstacles to get where they need to go in the college setting because I’ve broken every obstacle up until this point,” Ben explains.
Ben says he wouldn’t be in college without a love of music, for which he’s a triple threat in voice, guitar and piano. He had just graduated from high school to pursue music at Rowan when the overwhelm set in.
“I overcame it that first semester, and my entire undergraduate years I got help when I needed it and asked for assistance for the resources I need to obtain, like the Disability Resources office [also called the Academic Success Center] or academic coaching or my professors,” Ben says. “I always say to have connections with your professors. I feel like this transition showed me that it’s a lot different.”
After his first semester, Ben, working with the Academic Success Center, met regularly with his academic coach, who he says honed his writing, editing and organizational skills.
He also registered with the Testing Center, which he says helped him with both test-taking and studying. The Testing Center was “welcoming and allowed me to do my tests and quizzes in a quieter space,” Ben adds.
Ben’s academic career flourished after that first semester. He joined the Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society and Sigma Alpha Lambda, a national leadership honor society. He presented at Rowan’s College Prep Transition Conference, which offers workshops and tools to support students with disabilities and their families as they head toward college life.
His own advising experience, along with the guidance he received through the Academic Success Center, pivoted Ben’s career path from music to counseling. He’s applying his graduate coursework to an internship this year with the Academic Success Center, working with students who may be struggling as he once was — which speaks to why he’s so passionate about his future career:
“I really was inspired by how much I have learned in the college setting, the resources I used to succeed in the college environment,” Ben says. He hopes to “help students advocate for themselves, making sure they do what they need to do to succeed. It’s not easy, but they’ve got to take one day at a time to break those obstacles.
“I’d like to help those students to keep going and never give up. Every student, no matter their differences are.”
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Success For All: Support Systems at Rowan and Where to Find Them
If your student has a documented disability, sending them to college without an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) may feel downright scary.
Lisa Wilner, parent of a College of Education graduate student in the Higher Education program, wants to flip the script.
“[Parents] need to understand that universities are not abandoning the IEP resources that your child had,” she said. “Your job is to teach your child to use the resources that exist and to find the proper university for your major that has the resources. Rowan has them.”
Lisa is a featured speaker for the Academic Success Center’s College Prep Transition Conference and a parent network member with Rowan’s Autism PATH program, which aims to strengthen employment outcomes and networking opportunities for neurodiverse students and alumni.
Lisa’s tips, gleaned from five years at Rowan with her son, Ben — who also earned his undergraduate degree in Music from the College of Performing Arts — offer a parent’s take into the university’s academic and wellness resources.
- “If you have a student with a disability, you should register them with the Academic Success Center, even if you don’t think they’ll need it. If they think they can get extra test-taking time at the Testing Center, and they didn’t register and they ask the professor, they’re still going to have to take that test. It’s not like they can change it instantly. To register with the Academic Success Center, they need their senior year or [most recent] documentation of disability.”
- “I highly recommend the College Compass [transition to college] program. Students come in early, before the rest of freshmen students, and they get familiar with the school. They get comfortable, before everything starts to happen. And whether your student is on the [autism] spectrum, has ADD, has emotional issues, no matter what challenges, it gives them a comfort zone within the school.”
- “Register with Academic Success Center to work with an academic coach. I look at it as an insurance policy. If they never use it, that’s wonderful. But if they need it and you didn’t register them, you’re going to have issues because you can’t go backwards.”
- “This is for all students — drop-in and math tutoring and writing labs, all students have [access to] those. We just have to teach our children to utilize the services.”
- “[Students] have to build relationship with professors. Meet your professors. They have to know who you are by name. They have to go to their office hours. Get their email. When your student gets their accommodation letter, give it to the professor on day one, trust your student to do that.”
- “Your student needs to utilize Blackboard and check their email. I get more calls from parents saying my son’s crashing because he never checked his email. Some students are really good about that, others aren’t. A lot of professors [also] communicate through smartphones.”
- “The first two weeks of the semester and right before finals, your student will be freaking out. They will be a stress mess. So whatever their stress relief is, tell them to do it … it could be the gym or to just breathe. Rowan has something that is very unique — they have one counselor [at the Wellness Center] who specializes with working with students on the [autism] spectrum, ADD and such.”
Lisa’s final tips: “Your student knows more than you think they know. You just have to get them to advocate for themselves. At this point, we’re letting the student go. We’re their emotional support and their encouragement. Rowan is their scholastic support.”
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